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Arts & Entertainment

Local Author Makes Impact on iPad

Independently published author Derek Cicccone found an audience in internet publishing.

Southbury resident Derek Ciccone read an article while sitting on a plane from Arizona back to his native Connecticut about a rare condition called Congenital Indifference to Pain.  It is so rare that there are less than one hundred cases known in the United States.

That got him thinking.

The result is Ciccone's new novel, "Painless," which was recently the number one download on for the iPad.

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"Painless" is the story of Billy Harper, and his friendship with four-year-old Carolyn Whitcomb, the daughter of a former minor league hockey player and an overprotective mother with an ugly past.

Carolyn Whitcomb is a smart, out-going and funny little girl, but there's one problem: she can't feel pain.

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Ciccone has written other books, but was never able to sell them to any publishers, so he decided to publish "Painless" himself, through Dog Ear Publishing, an independent publishing company that allows authors to publish and market their work themselves.  He said that retaining the rights to the novel was important to him.

Even though Ciccone only expected friends and family to read his book, he put it up as a free download for the iPad, and was met with unforeseen success: "Painless" was in the top ten most downloaded freebies on the iPad for a month, and at one point went to number one, ahead of bigger names like James Patterson.

Despite the success he's had independently, if a bigger publishing company wanted to publish "Painless," he'd be able to let them do that.

Derek Ciccone moved to Southbury in fourth grade, and has called it home ever since. He graduated from Arizona State University with a degree in political science, and works as a marketing analyst. A 38-year-old bachelor, Ciccone enjoys playing basketball, spending time with his family, and, of course, writing longhand thrillers.

After meeting and speaking with authors who have been published by big-name publishers, he realized that they're situations aren't that different from his.

"They're doing what I'm doing," said Ciccone.

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